clipping. – something they don’t know

The current trend in hip-hop seems to be reactionary to the accessibility of electronic music making – bedroom DAW producers create sleepy beats for amateur rappers that throw around buzzwords like “codeine”. Spacey loops and reverbed drums float in and out of tired tropes like sped-up samples and 808 kits. clipping. is none of these things.

Producers William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes, who work with a myriad of West-Coast rappers, approach hip-hop in a more sinister way. Their oeuvre to date consists of several short EPs and a full length release – clipping.’s newest work contains just two songs and an ambiguously fragmented cover. The title track, “something they don’t know”, is often stop-and-start, but the brief interjections are harsh and noisy. clipping. is no stranger to samples – their bandcamp claims to offer a reward to anyone who can recognize all 24 appearing on their latest EP. They manage to construct their hooks from sharp clips of white noise and harsh scratching. The MCs’ verses on “something they don’t know” are similarly nihilistic and cold, dripping with vampiric sentiment but managing to keep up the flow to scratch solos and fuzz.

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